High Drama As Mamata Spends The Night In Her Office To Protest Army Presence At Toll Booths In Bengal

"Is this a military coup?"

West Bengal chief Minister Mamata Banerjee express her anger to Deputy chairman Planning commission Montec Singh Ahluwalia over the manhandling of her finance minister Amit Mitra by protesting SFI Members outside Planning Commission during meeting for the discussion on the annual plan 2013-14 of the state at Planning Commission on April 9, 2013 in New Delhi, India.

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A night of high drama was capped by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee staying back at her office, Nabanna, overnight to protest the presence of armymen, allegedly without the state government's permission, at certain toll booths on national highways that run through her state.

"Is this a military coup?" she told reporters at midnight adding that "even for a mock drill, the army has to take the state's permission, and they have not."

Mamata, who does not have the easiest of relationship with the Centre, alleged that this was "an attack on the federal structure" by the Narendra Modi government.

"I am the custodian of common people. So I can't leave them insecure. I will stay put here for the whole night and observe the situation."

"I am the custodian of common people. So I can't leave them insecure. I will stay put here for the whole night and observe the situation," Banerjee told reporters at around 1:30 AM.

She said that armymen were present in 18 other districts in the state.

Sometime before her press meet, journalists went to the toll plaza near Nabanna and found that the armymen were no longer there. A temporary shed set up for them was also removed.

There was no official version of the Army about the removal.

A Defence spokesperson said the Army conducts bi-annual exercise throughout the country with the aim to get statistical data about the load carriers that could be made available to the army in case of a contingency.

Army conducting routine exercise with full knowledge & coord with WB Police. Speculation of army taking over toll plaza incorrect @adgpi